How to transfer data to an SD card. Using the card as internal memory. Built-in way to transfer an application to an SD card in Android

The problem that affects many devices is that over time they lose speed. You may have noticed that newer devices are more productive, but backlogs of apps, files, and updates are consuming system resources, resulting in slower performance.

Moving from device memory to SD card

With proper maintenance and the right equipment, you can maintain optimal performance on your Android smartphone or tablet, as long as it has at least version 4.0 of OS and a microSD card slot.

Use external drives to free up storage space. High quality SD cards can be found at reasonable prices. But you should check the maximum microSD card capacity your device supports before making a purchase. Increasing the available storage space can be achieved in the following ways:

  • Move files to SD card;
  • Move applications to SD card;
  • Change the camera's default storage to SD card.

Basically, there is no set rule about how much internal memory of a mobile device should remain free for normal operation. But the “more is better” rule applies here.

Another benefit of storing files (especially music, videos and photos) on external storage is the ability to quickly transfer them to another smartphone or tablet. This can also come in handy when you want to backup your files when resetting your device to factory settings.

Moving files to an SD card

First, let's look at how you can transfer files and folders from the device's memory to an external card:

  1. Open the file manager on your Android device.
  2. Select local storage. It may be called “device memory”, “internal memory” or something similar.
  3. Find the files or folders you want to move. Tip: Camera images are usually found in the DCIM folder.
  4. Click the Menu icon to display a drop-down list of actions.
  5. Click Select or Select All from the action drop-down list. You should then see empty checkboxes next to the files, and the one empty checkbox at the top is usually labeled "Select All" or "0". If you don't see these checkboxes, long-press on a file or folder to display the checkboxes.
  6. Click empty checkboxes , to select individual files or folders you want to move, or click Select All at the top of the window.
  7. Click the Menu icon again to display a drop-down list of actions.
  8. Select Move.
  9. Browse to the desired destination folder on your external SD card, or click “Create Folder” to create and name a destination folder.
  10. Select a destination folder.
  11. Select Move Here.

Wait until your device finishes moving files and folders. Repeat these steps until you have moved all the desired files and folders from your device's internal storage to the SD card.

Transferring apps to an SD card

The average mobile app doesn't require a lot of memory, but after you've installed dozens of them, you need to do something. In addition, many popular applications require additional storage space and cache space.

Android OS allows you to move apps to and from the SD card. However, not every application can be stored on an external drive - pre-installed and system applications remain in the device's memory.

  1. Go to your device settings.
  2. Select Application Manager (or simply Applications) to see an alphabetical list of all the applications on your device.
  3. Select the application you want to move. You will be presented with the details of the application and what you can do with it.
  4. Click the "Move to SD Card" button. If this button is grayed out and does nothing when you click it, the application cannot be moved. If the button is called “Move to device memory” (or something similar), the application is already on the SD card.
  5. You may need to click on Storage to open a list of actions, including Edit. If the “Edit” button is missing, the application cannot be moved.
  6. Click the Change button to view the storage options: Internal storage and SD card.
  7. Select your SD card and follow the prompts that appear.

Wait until your device finishes moving the app. Repeat these steps until you have moved all the apps you want from your device's internal storage to the SD card.

Default camera storage

You probably take a lot of photos with your smartphone, and you don't want to move photos and videos to an external drive every time. Solution? Change the camera's default storage. Do this once, and all the photos and videos you take will be saved in the DCIM folder on your SD card.

Most, but not all camera apps offer this option. If yours does not have such an option, you can from the Google Play store.

  1. Turn on the camera on your device.
  2. Click on the menu icon (usually a gear) to access camera settings.
  3. Select "Storage Location".
  4. Select SD card. It may also be called “External storage”, “Memory card” and so on.

Now you can take pictures knowing that they will all be saved to the SD card.

Transfer files to long-term storage

Eventually, the SD card may also become full. In such a case, you can move files from SD card to laptop or desktop using a card reader. From there, you can move the files to an external hard drive or upload them to an online storage site (like Dropbox or Google Drive).

Today we will tell you how to transfer internal memory files and applications to the SD card of your Android phone or tablet. And also how to store files and photos on a microSD card to free up space in your smartphone’s memory. All the methods are simple and will help you avoid or delay the appearance of the “Not enough space” message on your Android device.

What you need to know about micro SD cards

Many inexpensive Android smartphones have a small amount of internal memory (4 or 8 GB). At the same time, 16 GB is not always enough, because few people limit themselves to a couple of movies and applications. Many users want their gadget to hold as many high-resolution photos and videos as possible, as well as all their favorite music tracks. Luckily, most Android smartphones support microSD cards.

Before purchasing a card, you need to find out what the maximum memory capacity of the gadget is. Flagships usually reach 128 GB and higher, but many Android smartphones are limited to 32 GB. Frankly speaking, this amount of memory is enough for most users.

After inserting a microSD card, you can set a new saving path for new applications, photos, videos, audio files and others; change the location where pictures are saved in the camera settings, as well as songs downloaded from the Google Play Music application. But what about applications that are already downloaded to the internal memory of the smartphone?

How to move apps to SD card on Android

Let's make a reservation right away: not all applications can be moved to a microSD card: some applications have protection that will prevent this from happening. In other words, users of smartphones with 4 and 8 GB of internal memory, who are accustomed to downloading and installing dozens of applications, even with a microSD card, may encounter the problem of lack of memory.

The ability to move an application to a memory card is usually determined by the application developer, and sometimes by the device manufacturer.

For example, one of the smartphones on which you can move applications to an SD card. But these applications will become unavailable when you remove the memory card.

In order to find out whether it is possible to transfer a particular application to a microSD card, go to “Settings”, then to “Applications” and select the one you need. On some Android smartphones, the settings menu may have a different name and look, but the application settings should be there in any case.

The first tab of the application settings menu displays all downloaded applications on the smartphone. On the tab to the right are those stored on the SD card.

To move an application, go to the “Downloaded” tab and click on the application. For the example in the screenshots, we chose Clash of Clans.

There will be an item “Move to SD card”, click on it. After which the message “Move” will appear, and at the end of the process the item will change to “Move to internal memory”. Now the application has appeared on the “on SD card” tab.

It's also worth noting that many downloadable free apps are available to move around. And for those who often run out of available memory, we recommend deleting applications after use.

How to Move Photos, Videos and Other Files to Android SD Card (Memory Card)

In addition, you can also quickly and easily move photos, videos, audio and other files using a computer or laptop. To do this, you just need to connect your smartphone to your PC via a USB cable.

Through the computer, you can view the contents of both internal and external memory (they will appear as two different devices). To move files on Mac OS, you can use Android File Transfer, which displays internal memory and SD card contents in different tabs.

Here, to move files from internal memory to external memory, you just need to drag them with the mouse to any convenient place, including the memory of the computer itself. The main thing is not to accidentally capture system files of the Android operating system.

File Manager

You can also use a file manager. Many Android smartphones have this application installed by default. If you don’t have it, you can download a free file manager from Topnet999, but ES Explorer is the most popular among users of Android devices.

At the very top there will be a “Memory” tab - click on it to see all the available types of memory on your smartphone. “sdcard0” refers to the internal memory of the smartphone, and “sdcard1” refers to the external memory. Let's start by moving photos.

First, open “sdcard0” and go to the DCIM folder, then to Camera. Photos taken with your smartphone camera are stored here. Click on the three dots at the bottom right and select “Select multiple files.” We mark the necessary photos that we want to transfer to the memory card. After that, select “Move”, go to the desired folder on the microSD card and click on “Insert”.

This way you can move audio and other files on your smartphone.


Articles and Lifehacks

The information contained in the removable module can actually be transferred to a mobile device very easily. Despite this, the question is whether how to move a file from a memory card to your phone, continues to remain open to many users.

Almost all modern cellular devices support the function of copying and moving data. How can this be done without and without performing other similar actions? Let's try to answer the question posed.

Moving files from phone to Android memory card

If a person is used to using the device’s built-in memory, he should be prepared for the fact that it will quickly run out over time. This means that the subscriber will no longer be able to install games and programs, save music and photos.
In this case, the solution is obvious: you should place the files on a micro-SD memory card.

To do this, we need the App2SD program, which is easy to find and download in the Android Market. It is completely free, and is specially designed for transferring games and other applications to the memory card of a mobile device.

Install the program, launch it and go to the “To SD card” tab. Those applications that can be moved, as a rule, notify about this themselves. Near them there is a green arrow.
In the window that appears, select “Move to SD memory card.”

Instructions for moving files from a memory card to any phone

As a rule, a mobile device from any manufacturer provides the ability to move files, provided that the driver is first installed.

First, let’s make sure that copy protection is not activated on the flash card. If this mode is set, this operation cannot be performed.

It should also be taken into account that the memory capacity of a mobile device, regardless of it, is usually much less than the capacity of a micro-SD card. Before moving data, you need to make sure that you actually have enough space on your phone.

We mark the applications that interest us. Depending on which function is available, information can be copied or moved immediately. Select the appropriate item.

These manipulations are performed by users of Samsung devices.
But how to move a file from a memory card to a Nokia phone? To do this, go through the main menu to the micro-SD card and mark the applications of interest. We move this in the same way as described above.

If the subscriber owns a smartphone, it is recommended that he launch the file manager. This can be done, for example, through the control panel. Moving applications is done in this way. You can mark one or several files at the same time.

A mobile device is sometimes equipped with certain software, which can also be used to perform the described operation. Such programs are pre-installed, launched and configured on the computer, after which the phone is connected. At this stage, it is important to select the appropriate connection mode - for example, “PC Suite”.

We mark the applications we are interested in and select the option to move to the device memory. Before doing this, it is recommended to connect the device as a drive to the computer and check everything with an antivirus so as not to damage the phone itself.

Sooner or later, every user of Android devices is faced with a situation where the internal memory of the device is about to run out. When you try to update existing applications or install new applications, a notification pops up in the Play Market stating that there is not enough free space; to complete the operation, you need to delete media files or some applications.

Most applications are installed in internal memory by default. But it all depends on what installation location the program developer specified. It also determines whether it will be possible to transfer application data to an external memory card in the future or not.

Not all applications can be transferred to a memory card. Those that were preinstalled and are system applications cannot be moved, at least if you do not have root rights. But most downloaded applications tolerate the “move” well.

Before you start transferring, make sure there is enough free space on your memory card. If you remove the memory card, the applications that were transferred to it will not work. Also, you should not expect that applications will work in another device, even if you insert the same memory card into it.

It is worth remembering that programs are not completely transferred to the memory card; some of them remain in the internal memory. But the bulk is moved, freeing up the necessary megabytes. The size of the portable part of the application is different in each case.

Method 1: AppMgr III

The free AppMgr III (App 2 SD) has proven to be the best tool for moving and uninstalling programs. The application itself can also be moved to the card. It's very easy to master. There are only three tabs displayed on the screen: "Moveable", "On the SD card", "In phone".

After downloading, do the following:


Another useful feature is automatic application cache clearing. This technique also helps free up space.

Method 2: FolderMount

FolderMount is a program designed to completely transfer applications along with the cache. To work with it you will need ROOT rights. If you have them, you can even work with system applications, so you need to select folders very carefully.

To use the application, follow these instructions:

Method 3: Move to SDCard

The easiest way is to use the Move to SDCard program. It is very easy to use and takes up only 2.68 MB. The app icon on your phone may be called "Delete".

Using the program looks like this:

Method 4: Standard means

In addition to all of the above, try to transfer using the built-in tools of the operating system. This feature is only available for devices with Android version 2.2 and higher installed. In this case, you need to do the following:

But what to do if the Android version is lower than 2.2 or the developer did not provide the ability to move? In such cases, third-party software, which we talked about earlier, can help.

Using the instructions in this article, you can easily move apps to and from your storage card. And having ROOT rights provides even more opportunities.

Probably, each of us has encountered the problem of insufficient memory or simply wanted to transfer applications to a flash drive, since the memory was already full, and games and applications cannot be transferred to MicroSD and the notification “Insufficient memory on the device, some functions may be limited” was annoying.
Even if I deleted many applications and games, there was still not enough memory. But how to increase memory without losing everything? Later in this article we will look at and find out how to solve this problem.

I want to warn you right away that neither I nor the site administration are responsible for your actions. You do everything at your own peril and risk.

P.S. The article uses the most simplified words for better perception.

To continue you will need:

  • MicroSD Card with at least class 6 (preferably class 10) and larger than 4 GB in size
  • (To create a second partition)
  • (For transferring applications and games)
  • (For transferring games with cache)
Why do we need a MicroSD card and ?

To increase memory, we will have to transfer your applications to the so-called second partition of the MicroSD card (for transfer you need ), and we will create it ourselves. If you already have a second section on your card, you can skip this item.

Creating a second MicroSD partition

1. Save all files on another medium (For example, on a computer)
2. Disconnect the MicroSD card via “Settings/Memory/Disable memory card”

3. If you have ROOT rights, install, if not -

4. After starting, click on “+” twice
5. Select “Ext4” in Part 2. If you have a device running Android 2.2-2.3, select “Ext 3”
6. In Part 2, select the size, how much memory you want to allocate in MB from the card for applications and games (The more the better)
7. Look at the first graph with a white bar, with the amount of memory remaining and enter these numbers in Part 1
8. Check if you did everything correctly. If everything is correct, click on the menu button or the so-called “three dots in the corner”, and click on “Apply changes”
The hardest part is over, you can reconnect the memory card (Settings/Memory/Connect memory card), transfer files back to the flash drive, but before that you can notice that the size of the memory card has decreased. This is how it should be, because we created the second section.

Setting up transfer to the second partition

We need to install the program (Google Play)


After installation, open the application. You should see a window like this. Select "Ext 4" or "Ext 3" for Android 2.2-2.3 and click on "OK".

After rebooting, open the application. You should see a list of applications.

Now we will look at what can be transferred and what is better not to transfer.

Let's just say that system applications should never be transferred. You never know what will happen. Therefore, it is better to transfer custom applications (those that you installed yourself). I do not recommend transferring those applications that you actively use (For example, Browser or WhatsApp and the like).

And to make it more convenient, the application has sorting. To do this, click on “Exact three stripes” and select “Custom”.

A list of your applications should appear in front of you. Now you can select the applications that you want to move to the second partition and link them there. Click on “Three Dots”, then on “Several”, select the applications to transfer and click on “Send”.

A few minutes of waiting and you're done! You have more memory, and you can still download games and applications and transfer them. If you delve into the Link2SD settings, you can enable auto-link. This is a function that automatically transfers the application to the second section of the card, thereby making your life easier.

You can also change themes in the settings, buy the Pro version, and so on. But that’s not about that now. In general, we figured out the main problem. But, I want to tell you, Link2SD does not transfer game cache (Game cache is files in .obb format along the path Android/obb/“game package name”). So what should we do? Let's talk further.

Transferring game cache and data to a MicroSD card

Game caches can be transferred using a great program called . I’ll say right away that the cache is transferred to the flash drive itself, and not to the second partition.

To get started, install (Google Play)

Open the application, and swipe from the left edge of the screen to the right edge (Swipe) and tap on “Application Analyzer”

Here is a list of games and programs sorted by “File size from largest to smallest.” Select games with cache, or find them by size.

For example, I chose this game. As you can see, there is data here - this is application data, and obb - additional files, i.e. cache. You can transfer both this and that in turn, there is no difference. Therefore, where do you want to start, click “Create a pair” there.

After clicking, a window should appear, just click on “Yes”. Then click on the checkbox, the file transfer window will appear again and click “Yes”. The file transfer status will be known in the Shutter.

If the paper clips turn green, it means that the cache or data has been completely moved, and you can already play.
When turned on, the program will mount the files itself, making your life easier.

After these procedures, you will forget what memory even is. Games and applications will fly to the second partition themselves (except for the cache and data, that’s on its own).

I hope that the article will somehow help you. Good luck on your adventures!

P.S I want to thank my friend for the decent title picture.